Bleach: Joining as One Arc: Signs
Ahatake looked around. Once again, he was standing in the formless mist, but this time, it felt different. Like a dream, but not at the same time. As he looked, the mist formed a into a dark forest, he saw the same white flash he had seen about a week ago. "Where am I?" He thought, as he started to walk. "And what was that?" He started to look around again, and saw the flash of white duck behind a tree. He followed, and to his surprise, saw a white haired girl sitting there, staring up at him with a blank expression. Before he could say anything however, he sat bolt upright. "Tch..." He thought, the sunlight pouring into his room. He'd had that dream before, the night after he was healed. It ended the same way as before as well. Before he spoke to the girl, he woke up. "Mmm...." His sudden movement had caused his wife to stir out of her own slumber, as well. She raised the back of her hand to place on her head, eyes fluttering open and blinking several times in order to force the haze away. "Morning already....?" She managed to say hoarsely, not bothering to get up. She didn't bother to get up immediately - she was aware that she was unclothed, her sheets the only thing that covered her grace. She raised an arm to wrap the sheets around her as she slowly raised herself up into a sitting position, weary eyes looking over at Ahatake. Ahatake took the hint, chuckling. "I'll excuse myself then." He said, getting up and bowing his way into the bathroom. As he splashed cold water onto his face and brushed his teeth, he went over the dream. The same dream, give or take a few details, twice in one week. What did it all mean? He sighed, gargling and spit out the water. "Can I come out?" He called. His wife wasn't fond of him walking in on her while she was naked, so he decided to be polite and make sure she was ready. "Yeah, It's fine now!" During the time that he was in, Megami had slipped out of her bed and into a bathrobe for temporary , sitting on the bed with her legs crossed as she waited patiently for her husband to leave the bathroom. Ahatake walked out, yawning widely. "I will never understand why my seeing you naked bothers you, but, in an interest of keeping the peace, I'll deal with it." Megami allowed herself to raise an eyebrow, uncrossing her legs and standing up on her shoeless feet. "Honestly, it really doesn't." She answered, the usual night not too far from her mind. "In the instances that it does happen, though, you end up barging into the room I'm in or something." She walked past him towards the bathroom door as she spoke these words. Ahatake laughed as he reached for his suit. After putting it on, he shouted over the shower water. "If you need me, I'll be downstairs." "And I'll be up here, for the time being!" Was the answer. Ahatake walked downstairs, yawning. He had to go to work today, but he'd go after breakfast. His boss wasn't going to be too pleased with the fact that he hadn't been into the office in over a month. Normally he'd get fired, but his boss was normally quite lenient. He sighed, sitting down at the table. He had no cooking skills, so he'd either have to wait for Miharu to wake up or for Megami to down. "Master..." A voice rang throughout his head, causing him to look around. No one was there. He placed a hand on his head. "Ugh..." He muttered, getting up to fix a pot of coffee. "I must be hallucinating..." For a moment, he spent his time alone within the main area with his coffee. No one else had apparently stirred under the morning rise, obviously heavy sleepers. But it wasn't too much time before Megami brought herself down the stairs, her footsteps light as to not suddenly disturb anyone else from their slumber. As with morning "procedure", she walked over to Ahatake to give him a chaste kiss, then moved into the kitchen in order to begin. After about a moment, Miharu slid down the stair rail like always, landing neatly onto the carpet. "Good morning everyone!" She said in a piercing voice, making sure she was audible. Ahatake winced, chuckling. "Good morning to you." "Good morning, dear...." Megami, having been used to Miharu's obnoxious behavior, had not batted an eyelash towards her and continued to prepare the food. Miharu was surprised that her mother hadn't reprimanded her for sliding down the railing, but didn't complain, since she didn't want to hear it. She slid into a chair, leaning back against the windowsill. "So what's on the to-do list for today?" "Well, I'' have work." Ahatake said, pouring his third cup of coffee. "I'm not exactly sure what your mother has planned." Considering that Megami was in the kitchen, the woman was not paying direct attention to the conversation that the father and daughter were having. Thus, she had not seen Miharu's sliding down the area. However, she did manage to hear the words spoken. It would be a waste of voice to have to raise her voice in order allow them to hear her - it was the ''morning, after all! "Probably cleaning and stuff." Miharu supplied when her mother didn't give them an answer. "If that's what it is, I'll help out if you need any!" She called into the kitchen. "Thank you, dear!" "Mhm!" Miharu said, nodding as Daiyaku came downstairs, rubbing his eyes. "G'morning everyone." "Hey kid." Ahatake raised a hand, lazily acknowledging the boy's presence. He was now on his fifth cup of coffee and counting. He frowned. "Megami, I've got to go, I'll grab a pastry on my way." "Try not to stress yourself!" "Thanks for the concern!" Ahatake called as he left the house, taking off running down the street. He did indeed stop at this store to pick up a bun, which he ate hurriedly as he rushed into the building, writing his name down on the sign in sheet. Work and Family "You're late Ahatake! The boss wants to see you." "Awf craf." Ahatake muttered, wolfing down the last bit of bread. ---- "DO YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR JOB AT ALL!?" Ahatake winced as the Boss's voice rang through his ears. He groaned. "Obviously, or I would have ran the moment the secretary said you wanted to see me." A vein throbbed in the woman's head. "So what is your excuse for being absent for over a month?" Ahatake frowned. "Well, I've been preoccupied with life or death situations to be honest. Hell, my partner in this job should have been able to answer these questions for you. And then I've been in a coma for awhile. I spent the last week recovering or so." "Your partner is just now returning as well." The woman said, frowning. "Then why aren't you chewing her out?" Ahatake asked, visibly annoyed. "Her former superiors had given a decent excuse as to why last week before she returned." She replied as if it was obvious. Ahatake's eye twitched. "Alright. Anyway, I'll try to avoid missing any more work days, can I leave now!?" She nodded and Ahatake got up and left the office, groaning again and muttering something under his breath. "I heard that!" He ducked out as fast as possible, walking up to his office. He sighed, sitting down in his chair, and waiting for his partner to arrive. It didn't take long, he could hear her voice coming from outside the door as she turned it. She walked in, talking on a cellphone. "Kenta, I told you, I'm at work right now." She sounded unusually snappish, even for her. "I'll call you later." She snapped the phone shut. "Oi." Ahatake said, looking up. "Oh, Ahatake, you made it." She said, looking over at him. "Yeah." Ahatake said, sounding irritated. "So tell me, we've both been absent for the same amount of time, why am I'' the only one the Boss decides to have a go at?" "I got lucky?" She suggested simply, smirking slightly. "Don't give me that." Ahatake said, chucking a pencil across the room. "Ukitake-san bailed you out, didn't he?" Her smirk widened slighly, which gave Ahatake his answer. "Lucky little..." Rukia took her seat, casually wheeling the chair over to the desk. "I think our time would be better spent working than arguing, don't you?" Ahatake sighed. "Guess it makes sense why they paired us up. You being the Seireitei's Yūrei Ōkoku representative and this being the office of '''Seireitei-Yūrei Ōkoku Relations." ---- "Finally." Ahatake said, getting up. "I thought this day would never end." Rukia placed her chair back where it had come from. "I'll see you tomorrow Ahatake." "Yeah, later Ruk-" He stopped dead. ''"Master..." was back. He placed a hand to his head. He felt a sharp pain as cried out again. Rukia noticed this, turning around, her hand on the doorknob. "Ahatake, is something wrong?" "No..." He murmured. "Just a headache that comes and goes. I'll just drink something." "Alright." She replied slowly, taking another look at him before she stepped out of the office. Ahatake shook his head, and stared at where she had just left. He blinked, and, for an instant, saw the flash of white again. He needed rest. He walked downstairs, checked himself out, and vanished in a burst of flames, landing neatly on his favorite chair in the living room. If he activated his spiritual sense then, he would've sensed presences within the backyard. Of course, knowing what they were doing was not out of the question. However, they were obviously familiar. Three of them were the signatures of Megami, Miharu, and Ezra. However, the fourth one was not only familiar.... it was one he had not sensed for quite a long time. In fact, the last time he encountered the source was only within his dreams. Could it be....? Even with his headache he could tell who it was. Nami. He groaned again as he sat up. He walked into the kitchen, grabbed the largest mug in the cupboard and poured the remaining coffee into it. He added several cubes of sugar into the coffee. He was gonna need this. He vanished into a burst of flames again, appearing sitting in the tree out in the backyard. "Hello everyone." He said, taking a swig from the cup. The bustle of activity effectively rendered his statement ignored for the most part. Ezra and Miharu, true to nature, were busy sparring. Before, Ezra had been critical of the girl's fighting style. However, because of her improvements thanks to Seireitou's training, he had not said a word about it and remained silent the time that they were doing. It was a surprising fact that he was managing to hold his own against her blocks and parries as natural as he had done before, although he always found himself retreating from Miharu's advancing blows and mostly counter-attacking at every opportune moment. Nami and Megami, as they were watching the spectacle and sitting on what appeared to be a stone bench, were talking. "....had two daughters of your own..." Megami was saying, indicating a lit cigarette within Nami's mouth. The said woman in turn was regarding her with a mixture of boredom and interest. "And your husband doesn't mind?" She wasn't scolding her or anything, but kept her conversational tone and a neutral one, at that. Her sentence brought a scoff from the brown-haired woman. She folded her arms across her chest, crossing her legs. "Princess don't do much of shit, actually. All he does is lay there and sleep. Maybe if we're all lucky, he'll get up and walk around the house a little bit, but other than that, he's pretty much a lazy-ass. He doesn't care what I do." Despite her rather rough tone in comparison to Megami's, the red-haired woman actually chuckled at her words, prompting Nami to cock an eyebrow. "Uh....what's so funny about that?" "I just remembered...." Megami answered, smile growing wider. "Ahatake did have a habit of calling you Princess, and you had a habit of complaining about it. Now, you're doing it to your husband. I find that sort of thing ironic, don't you?" Nami's eyes widened, a slight flush coming across her face at the words and realization. This caused Megami to laugh, covering her hand with her mouth. "Oh, don't tell me you never realized that!" She said mirthfully, reaching up to elbow the brown-haired woman in the arm. "After all those years, too!" She didn't falter when Nami turned her face away to hide the slight embarrassment that was showing. Ahatake sighed. He didn't want to get down from the tree, but they wouldn't hear him. Daiyaku climbed up to the tree, the only person who even knew Ahatake was there. "Any idea on how you're gonna get their attention?" He asked, curious. Ahatake chuckled. "One." He waved his hand, causing circular wall of fire to erupt around the yard, floating above the grass so as not to harm it. This, naturally, caught the attention of everyone. "Hello." Ahatake said, raising a hand. Nami had not taken well to the introduction. '"MAN, WHAT THE FUCK?!?!"' Megami automatically (and in a comical manner) ducked as Nami spun her head towards her ex-husband in a rather heated stare. Of course, the guy could've shouted and called for their attention. She was less than pleased to find out her feet nearly caught fire thanks to what she considered was an attempt to be an attention hog. She unfolded her arms and instinctively clenched her fists as she glared at Ahatake. Ahatake didn't flinch. Daiyaku did however, jumped down from the tree in case the woman decided to attack it. "Tone it down Nami, you're going to wake up the neighbor's kids." He took a gulp from the coffee mug. "Curious though, what are ya doin' here?" Nami glared at him for a moment more, but allowed herself to explain nonetheless. Her fists unclenched, and her body eased. "Well, if you have to know...." She answered slowly. "I go places, and this was one of the places where I go. While I was visiting said place, I decided to also pay a visit to the family just for old times' sake." Megami raised her head back up, smiling warmly and gesturing to Nami. "She was actually expecting you to come to the door, dear. She thought you were still cooped up in the house like you always were before." "I did work occasionally." Ahatake said in a voice of mock hurt. He finished the remained of the coffe, and began to slide forward on the branch, looking like he was about to fall, until he was sticking upsidedown to the branch, his feet glowing. "That reminds me, where's Akiko? She leave or something?" "She left for someplace else for a while..." "Probably sensed the impending doom." He said, obviously referring to Nami. "That's not very nice Tō-chan." Miharu piped up. "She's actually fun to talk to." "Hah...." Nami muttered, clearly not believing that Akiko would run from the likes of her. Megami was quick to back her newfound friend up. "Doom? Why, she's been quite nice ever since she's gotten here!" She exclaimed. "I really think you just worry too much, Ahatake." Behind her and unbeknowing to her, Nami pulled one eye open and stuck her tongue out at the male Kurosaki. Ahatake saw this, and frowned. "Try living with her for a few centuries. You'd be singing a different tune, I assure you." "I found you..." again. It broke his concentration and he fell from the branch into one of the bushes Megami enjoyed tending to. "Dammit..." He muttered, clambering out of the bush. It happened too quick for anyone to react. "Uhm.....Ahatake....?" Megami was the first to pipe up her questions on the matter, eyes widening slightly at the spectacle. Nami herself was staring at the man with a raised eyebrow and somewhat of an amused look. "Oh, god, what kind of apple's fallen from ''that tree?" She remarked, following it up with a bit of laughter. "Shut it." Ahatake said, chucking a rock at her, which missed her face, cutting her cheek instead. He was clutching his head, despite not having fallen on it. "Ugh..." He felt shaky. He was thankful Nami was not the type to get violent over a scratch. The rock brushed past her skin, and she winced at the contact. However, she allowed herself to do nothing. Megami, however, immediately got up and walked over to the spot where she was to stoop down towards him. "Are you all right?" She asked gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I...honestly have no idea." Ahatake said slowly. "I've been hearing voices over and over in my head for the past week. I've had a recurring dream involving that same voice. And I've been seeing white flashes." "Obviously, you've got yourself a stalker, then." Nami said amiably, causing Megami to look over her shoulder in wonder at the woman. Ahatake looked at her curiously. He had no idea what it was and was willingly to take anyone's suggestion, even Nami's. "What makes you think that? I'm hearing in my head, not getting notes with disturbing messages written on them." "Situations like yours mean that someone's got a link to your head, or at least the ability to send messages telepathically to you." Nami answered readily, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back a bit. "Someone's taking an interest in you and is trying to convey some sort of message to you. What has this little voice been saying to you?" Ahatake thought, trying to remember. "For the past few days, it's simply been the word Master over and over. What made me fall from the tree though, said I found you." "And what happened before you started having these visions?" "I was in that coma for a bit. Megami and Miharu had just come from fighting my Kan'na Counterpart, and, from Miharu's explanation, he was sealed." He said, shrugging. Nami closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, remaining silent for a moment. "Well, in that case, I donno what to tell ya, buddy." She said blatantly, frowning. "Only that there's a stranger taking a liking to you." "Oh boy..." Ahatake said, frowning. "This doesn't sit well with me at all. Last thing I want to have is a voice ringing in my head. My inner hollow did that enough before he finally disappeared along with my old Zanpakutō spirit." "Well...." Nami shrugged. "You got one. Too bad." She stretched a little in her sitting position, her arms extending over her head. "Who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky and your stalker'll have enough balls to face you head on real soon." "Or maybe it'll switch from me to you." Ahatake suggested. "I can hear the screams and see the blood now." "Tō-chan, stop that." Miharu's said, frowning. By this time, Miharu and Ezra had long stopped their assault in order to observe the conversation. Considering that they had not bothered to speak, they had virtually been ignored. Ezra himself had his arms folded across his chest, looking on with a glib expression. Ahatake sighed. "Perhaps a spar would shake me out of this." He looked at Tereya. "Care to take me on?" Immediately, Nami raised a quizzical eyebrow. But her mouth was curled up in an appreciative smile. The eagerness that had buried itself long ago resurfaced at the question. It had been a long time since they had fought each other again. However, their previous fight had went unfinished due to her the child within her womb. But now that there was no hindrance, no Sasha to get in her way. It was just her and her raw ability and skill alone against his. The thought fueled the Hell-Hunter blood within her, and she made her decision right away. "I think we both know the answer to that...." She answered casually, pushing herself off of her feet. Megami allowed herself to stand to her feet, eyes darting from one to another. "Are you sure....?" She asked hesitantly. For all she knew, there still could be bad blood surfaced underneath their facades that could come out if they didn't be careful. "What?" Ahatake looked at his wife. "I'm not going to try and kill her, I just want a decent match to shake off this annoying feeling I'm getting from . Fighting always makes me feel alive." He looked at Nami. "This yard is spacious enough, we'll fight here." He drew his sword. "Guess I'll start with the weaker option." He walked to the center of the yard. "You get the first move." Tilting her head, Nami allowed the corner of her mouth to curl upward again. "You're too kind...." She remarked, drawing her own sword and stepping towards the man. She didn't plan on using a Kogeru in an attempt to take him off-guard. It would be too predictable and typical. In any way, she would know where he was coming from even if she tried. So, with a casual aura, she allowed herself to step within the proximity of her target. She settled into a stance: holding the weapon above her head, angled back and down at an approximately forty-five degree angle. She held that stance for a moment, creating tension within the combat atmosphere in order to make Ahatake tense. Then, she unleashed the attack. Her initial swings were fast, fluid, and powerful. The power of her blows were battering his defenses with a ruthless vigor. Her attacks were fluid, and the spiritually-enhanced strength she was putting behind every hit made for a considerable threat to his own guard. Sparks flew between the two blades as she continued to clash hers against his in an elegant fashion. Ahatake swung his blade to meet hers, blocking every strike as best he could. Fighting when he wasn't a Shinigami was definitely uncomfortable, but he had long since adjusted to that. His feet began to glow, and he jumped up, fullbringing the air to accelerate higher. Flames formed around his hand, and he shot a large fireball down towards her. One thing was for sure: Nami was not going to stand there and let him attack her however he pleased. Instead, using a kogeru, she moved in to close the distance before he fired off the fireball at her. She put her sword arm out in front of her, twisting the blade around. Once the fireball collided with it, it dissipated among contact, and she moved to close the final stretch of distance before unleashing her attacks on his defense once more. He coated his blade in flames as he swung towards her once more, meeting her blade as they clashed in mid-air. He began to make stronger swings, but he kept aiming for the same spot on the blade. The heat of the fire, plus the strength of the impact...it was his intention to shatter her blade. It was here that Nami's eyes widened. The strength of Ahatake's sudden strikes had caught her off-guard. When their blades clashed, her guard was forced back, and she was forced to step back as her opponent came onto the offensive. However, her own style did not falter. With every swing that Ahatake was dlivering on her guard, she brought the full force of his strike against him in her own counter-attacks and was able to keep herself stable. "Thought you said fighting made you feel alive!" She taunted him. "Why bother trying to break my weapon?" The thing that was keeping it from breaking was her own spiritual energy that enhanced her own blows. "Master!" Ahatake heard once again, and his strike this time slipped, missing Nami by a wide margin. Opportunity! She swung her blade just in time to meet his, twirling her sword around and forcing Ahatake's grip on his own blade to loosen. With an upward thrust, she disarmed him, his sword flying out of his hands and to the ground below. However, Nami didn't make another move other than that, balancing the blade on her shoulder with one hand and tilting her head to the side, cocking her eyebrow. He gripped his head again, barely noticing his sword fly out of his hand. He didn't bother to go and retrieve it, instead drawing his Riyūhōchō. He swung it quickly, releasing a crescent of Giji Riyū towards her. "What the....?" That certinally wasn't a type of energy that she had sensed before. Immediately, she allowed herself to jump over the attack, her guard once again raised. Because they were in the air, the attack simply rode across the sky. Her eyes were narrowed ."What in Hell's name is he doing?" She thought. "Is he TRYING to get me killed?" He shot down towards the ground, swinging the knife again, sending another blast of Giji Riyū towards her, smaller and more controlled this time. had distracted him when he made his last shot. He shook his head, looking up to see Nami's next move. She raced down after him. Her sword at her side, she allowed herself to descend in order to meet him on even level. The second blast was just as easy to avoid. All she had to do was flip in mid-air, and it slid right past her. However, once she was at a certain range, she slid out of her path and landed gracefully on her feet, a good distance away. Raising her foot up, she kicked Ahatake's sword up towards its owner. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to kill me again...." She remarked dryly. "What was that?" "Giji Riyū." Ahatake replied, catching the fallen sword. "Something my mother made along time ago, along with this knife I'm wielding." He frowned. Even fighting couldn't take his mind off . But there was no real reason to stop now, since they were already in. He sheathed the knife again. He wasn't in this to kill here, so this blade would suit him just fine. "Ready to begin again." "I am...." Nami drawled, balancing the blade back onto her shoulder. "Are you?" "If I'm not ready to fight, you might as well consider me dead." Ahatake said. He gripped his sword and held up it's sheath. "Lightning Strikes Twice." His sheath morphed, becoming a sword. Then, they both became immersed in lightning, connecting themselves with a rope of lightning. He'd keep his focus on his Fullbring. If he did that, perhaps could be ignored. He placed both blades over each other and swung them, sending an X shaped electrical blast towards Nami. She could've evaded the attack once again and attack. But that would've been too easy.... She put her sword out in front of her in a vertical stance, her side facing Ahatake. The electricity collided with the blade, but it was as if a barrier was being projected. The electricity fought against her defenses, but she wasn't moving an inch. It wasn't long until she swung her sword again, effectively dispelling the attack. Ahatake's eyes were wide. "How!?" Did Fullbring really pale this much in comparison to Nami's power? He wasn't going to believe it until he was sure. His feet began to glow, and he vanished, appearing behind Nami. "Take this!" He thought, slamming his leg forward. This, however, would prove to be a lethal mistake. For as Ahatake turned around... SLICE! Nami had done the same thing. Her wrist was flicked, her blade was swung. Before either of them knew what was happening though, Ahatake heard again, crying out something he couldn't here, and a barrier appeared between Ahatake and Nami, keeping both their attacks from reaching each other. When the kick and blade collided with the barrier, both Ahatake and Nami were repelled. Ahatake crashed into the ground, getting up, bruised slightly. He looked up at the barrier, eyes wide, and then turned to look at Megami and Miharu. "Did either of you two do that?" He asked. Miharu shook her head. Needless to say, Nami was caught off-guard. She went flying back, letting out a grunt as she slammed into the ground back-first. However, she was quick to get back up onto her feet and staring in disbelief at the barrier that had been erected. She sure as hell hadn't allowed herself to create such a thing. She allowed herself to stand silently. Was there something about to happen...? Ahatake was puzzled. He gripped his katana, but then, the Riyūhōchō started to tremble. He looked down at it. "What...?" He deactivated his Fullbring to look at the Riyūhōchō, removing it from his waist. "The Riyūhōchō...it wants to be drawn." He removed the knife from it's sheath looking at it bewildered. Then sounded again. "It's time..." There was a large explosion of reiatsu, enveloping Ahatake and shooting high into the air. Needless to say, every onlooker was surprised at this very unexpected turn of events. "Kā-chan!" Miharu called over to her mother. "What the heck is happening?" However, the said woman was rendered speechless along with the rest of the group. Her eyes widened, and her body was in a state of total paralysis as she watched it take place. Her hair was whipping around under the power of what appeared to be some sort of tranfusion.... but what was causing it?! The reiatsu died down after a few moments, revealing two people. One was Ahatake, who was now wearing the standard Shinigami shihakushō and wielding a dazzling white katana that had fur instead of a guard. The other was a young girl pure white hair tied in twintails, a grey shirt with unattached sleeves, a tie, a short skirt, and black boots that reach past her knees. She quickly faded, with Ahatake looking down at his blade in apparent confusion. "I-I'm a Shinigami again?" "....well.... that was the most random shit I have ever seen in my life." Ezra, who had remained silent and observant, had to smirk a little as Nami stated her opinion on what had just happened. He had caught the spirit's figure shortly before it had vanished away. He cocked an eyebrow, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Realization had came to him immediately, and it was no surprise to him who Ahatake's "stalker" had been. Promptly, he sheathed his sword blade, knowing it would not be needed anymore now that Miharu's attention was drawn away. He, as well as everyone else, were eyeing Ahatake with an observant intention. Ahatake looked over at Nami. "I want to go on record for saying I have no idea how the hell this just happened." He held up his sword, pointing it at her. "Either way, this match is still on if you're up for it. My blade wants to continue." "Tch. Forget it...." Scoffing, Nami sheathed her own sword and folded her arms across her chest. "The buzz is gone now." Ahatake looked at her, an expression of confusion on his face. "You're turning down a fight? I'm hearing this from a woman who killed a street full of people because she felt like it." Keeping one hand on her hilt idly, Nami let the other arm hang by her side. A rather snide smile came across her face. "That's what being a housewife for a good while does to you." She answered dryly. "Yeah, I highly doubt that. My mother was less human than you and she didn't go off killing random people." His sword sealed itself in the form of a wakizashi, and he sheathed it. "Still, I can't believe I am a Shinigami again...I forgot how wierd this outfit felt." Miharu walked over to her father, walking around him wide-eyes as if inspecting him. She poked his head. "He's real." "An effort to get the last word. Cute...." Nami rolled her eyes in annoyance, but did not allow herself to comment further on it. Instead, she remained silent, putting her hands in her pockets. Despite everything, Ahatake still held that immaturity within him. "Well, I'll take this as my cue to leave." She stepped past the group. "Enjoy your newfound gift, Aha-chan." A vein throbbed in Ahatake's head. He had his powers again. He could try and beat the crap out of her. Of course, given her nature, that could just backfire on him with powers he wasn't experienced with. He remained silent, figuring he'd probably be rude if he said anything else. Miharu ran up to Nami. "It was nice to meet you." She said, cheerfully. Ahatake let out a long, perfectly audible, drawn out sigh. "Next time you visit, will you fight me?" "Sure, kid. I wouldn't mind doin' that..." Nami answered with a dry tone, while reaching up to gently ruffle Miharu's hair. Megami couldn't help but smile at the gesture of kindness. "Since you're in town Nami, pay Midoriko a visit." Ahatake suggested. "I'm sure she'd enjoy that." "Mhm..." With that, Nami hopped over the fence of the backyard, walking away casually. Ahatake slumped down onto the grass, looking tired. "That...was annoying." "Oh, don't be like that...." Megami chided, walking over to him and stooping down to a kneeling position. She placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a sitting position. She heard Ezra yawn before turning on his heel and walking off, back into the direction of the house's interior and following Nami's path. Ahatake yawned. "I'm going inside to rest. I've got to be at work tomorrow anyway, or my boss probably will fire me this time." He walked past them all and into the house. Epilogue The streets did not particularly go without activity. In fact, there was a bustle of it. A crowd of people were gathering around a certain part of one of the buildings, chattering amongst themselves. They had reason to, for a rather astounding, confusing, and somewhat disturbing sight greeted them. Carved into the gravel and brix was various symbols and shapes, all of them made of a paint that could simply be described as blood. Words of what appeared to be a foreign language were mixed in, the letters blending with the pictures and symbols as naturally as sugar blends into water. It covered nearly half of the building, reaching from top to bottom. Who had the time to carve such a thing in such a short time, though? On top of that very building stood two cloaked figures. One was decked in black, arms folded across his chest, and his hood cloaking his face completely. The one beside him, however, had features that detailed the body. The shape and stature of the hands, as well as the bottom portion of the face that showed underneath its own hood signaled the gender to be female. In one of her hands, a spear with a cross-like blade on the end was held and lowered in an idle stance. Her face was contorted into a smirk, and her free hand was on her hip. They continued to observe the crowd silently, their cloaks billowing as the wind picked up, and said nothing as their creation was admired.